The sight of the arm falling to the ground amidst the flash of the blade terrified Zhou Dashan, his wife, and the henchmen brought by the steward.
However, that wasn't the end of it. The commander in brocade robes, with a grim face and a murderous aura, drew his long sword and placed it against Steward Zhang's neck.
At this moment, Butler Zhang was screaming in pain because his hand had been cut off.
Upon feeling the cold blade on his neck, he seemed to instantly forget the pain in his hand, quickly turned around, and looked at the Imperial Guard commander with a terrified expression, then spoke:
"I...I'm Master Zhang's butler. Quickly...take your knife away. If you kill me...you...you're finished."
However, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not afraid at all, and only looked at Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen, a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, looked at Steward Zhang, who still seemed somewhat unaware of his situation, and said:
"Cut off one of your hands as a lesson to you. If you still don't know what's good for you, then be prepared to die here."
Upon hearing this, the steward was utterly terrified. He looked at Zhu Yunwen in horror and said:
Who exactly are you?
He knew in his heart that anyone who dared to arbitrarily condone their subordinates' killings was no ordinary person.
Zhu Yunwen clearly did not intend to reveal his identity, after all, many people wanted to kill him, and revealing his identity was not a wise thing to do.
So he spoke calmly:
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that you get back right now and tell your master that if he continues to exploit the people and farmers like this, his end will come very soon."
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, the Imperial Guard officer sheathed his sword, clearly indicating that Zhu Yunwen did not intend to kill Steward Zhang.
With the terrifying knife no longer at his neck, Steward Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching his severed arm, he looked at Zhu Yunwen, his brow beaded with sweat, and said:
"May I have your name?"
Zhu Yunwen frowned: "Get out!"
The butler was so frightened that he turned around and stumbled away with a few lackeys.
The courtyard quickly returned to silence, but then Zhou Dashan, a man, stepped forward and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Young master, you'd better leave quickly. You cut off Steward Zhang's arm; his master, Master Zhang, will not let you off the hook."
Although Butler Zhang was nothing in his eyes, he was still his butler. Injuring his butler was tantamount to slapping Master Zhou in the face, and Master Zhou would never tolerate it.
However, Zhu Yunwen smiled and said:
"You'd better come find me, don't be afraid!"
As he spoke, he invited Zhou Dashan to bring his wife and children into the house.
He and Zhao Qingzhu went inside as well. After they entered, Zhu Yunwen said to Zhou Dashan:
"I have some silver here!"
As he spoke, he took out ten taels of silver and placed them on the table, then continued:
“Take your wife and children to the nearby county town, rent a house for a while, and find some work. It’s much better than being oppressed in this village.”
Zhu Yuntong's words shocked Zhou Dashan; he hadn't expected Zhu Yuntong to give him ten taels of silver.
But in reality, he had no intention of going to the county town to make a living. After all, in ancient times, people were born in a certain place and stayed there for their entire lives.
Apart from a few business people, almost none of them had ever traveled far from home in their entire lives.
Not to mention, some farmers even went to the county town.
This is something I almost dared not even think about.
Seeing Zhou Dashan hesitate, Zhu Yunwen continued:
"I can't stay here long, so I'm worried that leaving will cause you some trouble because of this."
Consider this ten cartloads of silver as compensation and a form of financial assistance. Going to the county town will at least help you avoid some unnecessary trouble.”
Zhou Dashan remained silent for a long time, then looked at his two children.
Perhaps life needs a change; living like a beggar in a place like this is certainly not a good thing.
Now that such an opportunity has presented itself, he feels it's definitely worth seizing.
He then stood up and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Thank you very much, young master. Your kindness and virtue are something my whole family will never forget."
Zhu Yunwen smiled and waved his hand, then turned to Zhou Dashan and said:
"I believe that in the near future, the lives of people all over the world will be greatly improved. When that time comes, it will not be too late for you to choose to come back and live the life you want in the countryside."
Hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Zhou Dashan sighed and said:
"Since ancient times, the common people have always suffered. There is a saying that goes, 'When the world prospers, the people suffer; when the world perishes, the people also suffer.' As you say, young master, I really don't know when we will see the people's lives improve."
These words, spoken with endless sorrow, only strengthened Zhu Yunwen's resolve to change the status quo.
He didn't make any further promises, after all, why should a farmer trust a stranger like himself?
He simply sighed and said nothing more.
The night is long!
Sure enough, it didn't take long before torches lit up outside, and a noisy commotion arose again.
Zhu Yuntong told Zhou Dashan and the others to stay inside the house and not to go out.
He and Zhao Qingzhu slowly walked out.
Then they saw that outside the courtyard, there were twenty or thirty burly men and henchmen holding torches.
The leader, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes and plump from eating, looked angry.
He glanced at the ten Imperial Guards in the courtyard and rebuked them:
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
